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Sunday, February 16, 2014

The Debate with Ken Ham and Bill Nye: a Spiritual Battle

My dad recently debated Bill Nye, and I would be remiss if I did not give my thoughts. On a side note, this is the first time I ever used the word "remiss" on this blog! I would be remiss if I did not use the word "remiss" on this blog. Anyway, let my cover a few of the basics first.

Who Won?

Ultimately, God has already won, and there was never any doubt that He would not. This is a spiritual battle (Ephesians 6:12). Basically, God our Creator made Adam and Eve in a perfect world. He told them they could eat of every tree but one—otherwise they would have the knowledge of good and evil and also die. So what did they do? They ate of that one tree. Sadly, it reminds me of myself.

Ever since the serpent deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden and both Adam and Eve ate the fruit (Genesis 3), sin has entered the world, and we have been struggling ever since. In Adam (our representative if you will), we are all sinners against a perfect, holy God (Romans 3:23; Romans 5:12), and the punishment is death. If you have not, I encourage you to read the Bible, starting at the beginning, at Genesis 1–11 for the details.

Praise be to God, He promised in Genesis 3:15, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." The Seed of the woman, our Lord Jesus Christ (the Son of God), became the perfect sacrifice to satisfy the wrath of a perfect and holy God. 1 Corinthians 15:22 states, "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive," and 1 Corinthians 15:57 states, "But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

But who do I think won on the debate considering all the arguments from both sides? That is an extremely easy and quick answer. My dad! Am I biased? Why yes! But, I might add, that you are too! And that leads me into my next topic.

Bias on Both Sides

Watching the debate, you can clearly tell that both sides have a bias, which my dad explained and Mr. Nye tried to ignore. This is ultimately a spiritual matter. You can either accept God's Word as truth or not. You can try to be neutral on spiritual matters, but as Jesus Christ said, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." This debate on creation vs. evolution is really a spiritual matter that has been going on in similar forms ever since Genesis 3.

My dad's bias starts with God's Word. Mr. Nye's bias starts with man's word, believe it or not. Explore the bias of Mr. Nye and other skeptics for yourself. They do not believe God exists and believe in a naturalistic worldview as a way of explaining a world without God. As they strive to understand the world, they using their naturalistic bias to explain the world. As they strive to confirm their worldview through science, they will make assumptions based on their worldview just as others who believe the Bible would with their worldview.

On a similar note, I have been watching the tv show Mythbusters, and it is very interesting. They use science to determine if various myths are true, feasible, or not. The problem is that these myths do not always give all the variables, so the hosts who have a lot of experience have to make certain assumptions. There have been a number of myths they have tested and claimed they are "busted" that left me thinking they did not try all of the variables. It is clear that when you are trying to figure out something about the myths or even the past, you have to make certain assumptions!

Will the Evidence Convince You?

Mr. Nye called for one piece of evidence to convince him, and my dad said that nothing would convince him. For believers, we have the truth of God's Word, which is the authority in every area of life. Of course, nothing would (or should) ever convince us otherwise. Would one piece of evidence really convince the skeptics?

Well, as my dad said, "There is a book ... " God gave us His testimony through the Bible, and "Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17). Why do they not consider the clear evidence sitting right in front of them? How about also considering how "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1)? The answer is because it is a spiritual matter. They know God exists (Romans 1:20–21), but they "suppress the truth in unrighteousness" (Romans 1:18). They are willingly ignorant (2 Peter 3:5).

Conclusion

I cannot help but think of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31). Both the rich man and Lazarus had died. It was too late for the rich man—he did not believe until after he had died. He pleaded with Abraham, "Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:24). Abraham responded, "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented" (Luke 16:25). Consider what conversation took place next between the rich man and Abraham:

Then he said, "I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment." Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them." And he said, "No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent." But he said to him, "If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead." (Luke 16:27–31)

Skeptic are crying out for one piece of evidence, but what if a person was raised from the dead like this passage states? Would they believe then? Well, someone was raised from the dead: our Lord Jesus Christ! And still people refused to believe those many years ago. It is not for a lack of evidence as to why so many do not believe. It is a heart issue, a spiritual issue. I plead with those who do not know the Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior to read God's Word and explore it for yourself. See how it makes sense of the world. And most of all, see how it can save you from the upcoming judgement.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotton son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

About Me

My
name is Jeremy Ham, and I am weird, which is good. Think about it: if
everyone was normal, it would be a bad place to live in!

I like spiders, but hate crickets. I like burned steak better than cold chop just like Curly Howard. I hate money. My favorite actor is Gonzo. Most of all, I love God and strive to put him first in all that I do. Also, my hometown is "under a tree"!